Zack Hample has snagged 7,806 baseballs at 51 different major league stadiums since 1990. Find out how and see what else he's been up to.

8/31/08 at PETCO Park

I can’t believe I almost skipped this game. Wow. What a mistake that would’ve been. I’d gone to Angel Stadium the night before and PETCO Park the night before that.
Over the course of those two days, I’d snagged a total of 32 balls and
ended up with a comparable number of bruises and blisters. I needed to
sleep. I needed some painkillers. I wanted to blog. I wanted to go to
the beach. And to top it all off, this was a dreaded
day-game-after-a-night-game; I was pretty sure there wouldn’t be
batting practice.

I arrived at PETCO at 9:30am, and two good things happened within the
next 15 minutes. First I ran into my friend Leigh (aka “padreleigh” if
you read the comments) who’d been given an extra $50 ticket and passed
it along to me for free. Then I saw Brad Hawpe entering the ballpark
and learned that the Rockies WERE planning to take BP. Hot damn!

Of course the Padres were nowhere to be found when the stadium opened
at 10:30am, but the protective screens–minus the batting cage–for BP
were indeed ready to go. This was the view from behind “the beach” in
deep right-center field:

Did you notice the sand sculpture in the photo above? Here’s a closer look…

…and here’s the other side:

Finally, the batting cage was on its way toward home plate…

…but when the rest of the stadium opened at 11am, this was the only action:

In case you can’t tell from the photo above, Rockies bullpen catcher Mark Strittmatter was playing
catch in front of the dugout with bullpen coach Rick Mathews. If this
were New York, there would’ve been about 50 people screaming at them by
the time they finished, but here in San Diego only two other fans had
made it down to the dugout. One was Leigh, who had a glove but no
Rockies gear, and the other was a man with Rockies gear and no glove.
It almost goes without saying that I was the guy who ended up getting a
ball from Mathews, and what a ball it was. He had dug around in the
basket for at least 10 seconds before pulling one out and tossing it to
me. I think he was trying to find the dirtiest, most beat up ball, and
that was fine by me. Brand new balls, while fun to snag because I feel
like I’m getting away with robbery, are not nearly as interesting.

As soon as I snagged that first ball, two Padres began playing catch in right field:

How convenient. And best of all, there was NO competition. A father and
son wandered down to the front row at the last second, but neither of
them had a glove or even bothered to ask for
the ball. The player who ended up with it was a pitcher named Josh Geer
who had made his major league debut the night before and gone five
innings for the win. When I asked him to throw me the ball, he said,
“Are you gonna throw it back?”

“Absolutely!” I said. “I’d love to play catch. I really need to warm up my arm.”

Geer then threw me the ball and held up his glove to indicate that he
wanted it back. I threw a perfect chest-high strike and was excited to
be playing catch with a major leaguer, even someone who’d been one for
less than 24 hours, but he then threw the ball back and told me to keep
it. So much for that.

The Rockies started taking BP soon after, and I raced out to the left
field seats. As I got there, Troy Tulowitzki lined a ball that landed
20 feet to my right and one row below me. There was another fan in that
row, cutting through the seats from the opposite direction, and I was
sure he was going to end up with the ball, but he didn’t because I got
one of the luckiest bounces of all time. Basically, the ball rattled
around, as if trapped briefly in a three-dimensional pinball machine,
and bounced up into my row. It was fantastic and I grabbed it, fully
aware that it was my third ball of the day and No. 399 on the season.
I’d never reached 400 before. The next ball was going to be historic–at
least for me–and I started paying extra close attention so I’d be able
to identify the source.

“Excuse me,” said another fan who was standing in the front row, “are you Zack?”

“Yeah.”

“Here,” he said, holding out his cell phone, “Heath Bell wants to talk to you.”

“Excuse me?!” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, “he’s been looking for someone named Zack for the last two days.”

WHAT?!?!

I did recognize the guy with the phone–I’d seen him two days earlier
and remembered him from the three games I attended at PETCO in 2006–but
how the hell would he have had Heath Bell’s number? I was sure one of
my friends was playing a trick on me. Leigh? Brandon? Someone in the
ballpark knew that *I* knew Heath and was messing around. They had to
be. So I decided to play along.

I picked up the phone and said, “Yeah, hello?”

“Zack!!” said the voice on the other end.

“Who is this?”

“It’s Heath!”

“Okay, really, who is this?”

“I see you in left field,” said the voice. “Look across the stadium. I’m waving in front of the dugout.”

I looked up…and oh my God…Heath WAS waving at me from across the field and holding a phone next to his ear.

“Wow, it really IS you,” I said.

“What are you up to right now? You trying to get some baseballs out in left field?”

“Well, yeah…why, what’s up?”

“I have a ball here for you,” he said. “I think it might be something
you haven’t seen. I don’t know, maybe you already have one, but do you
want to come over and take a look? Or do you want to wait ’til after
BP?”

On the one hand, I *did* want to wait until BP was over so I wouldn’t
lose any snagging opportunities, but on the other hand…could there
have possibly been a better way to snag (or in this case “receive”)
ball No. 400?

“I’ll head over right now,” I told him, “but it’s gonna take me at least three minutes to get there.”

“Perfect,” said Heath, “the ball’s in my locker so it’ll take me a few minutes to get it.”

“I’ll even take off my Rockies gear for the occasion.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” he said. “Leave it on. Just meet me right here.”

I handed the phone back to the guy and sprinted around the
stadium. PETCO is one of those segmented ballparks–the shortest
distance between two sections is never a straight line–so it really did
take several minutes to reach the dugout, and when I got there, a
security guard standing on the warning track looked up and said, “Heath
Bell?”

“Yeah…?”

“Wait here,” said the guard. “He’ll be right out.”

Thirty seconds later, Heath popped out of the dugout and tossed me a Padres cap:

He was wearing an identical cap, so it’s not like he took this one
right off his head and gave it to me–but clearly it was HIS cap because
his uniform number was written on the inside.

Then he tossed me a ball and said, “Here, tell me what you think.”

I had no idea what to expect. I’d been assuming (or at least hoping)
that the ball would have some type of commemorative logo, and when I
got my first look at it, my jaw literally dropped. This is what I was
holding:

“Oh my GOD!!!” I shouted. “Thank you SO much!!!”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Heath.

“No really,” I replied, “I can not thank you enough.”

I told him that I’d once gotten an Opening Day ball during BP that was
so worn that I could barely read the logo. And of course I loved the
cap as well. I actually needed a Padres cap (the plastic, adjustable
strap on my old one broke two days earlier), and I’d been making
late-nite trips with Brandon to various Walmarts in search of a
replacement. Unbelievable.

I asked Heath if I could actually give the cap and ball back to him for
a moment so I could get a photograph of him holding them. He suggested
that we get a photo together instead, so security let me down into the
camera-well next to the dugout, and the guard on the field took our pic:

The guard handed the camera back to me as I was asking him to take
another pic, so Heath grabbed the camera and held it out at arm’s
length and took the pic himself. It didn’t come out well, only because
I wasn’t ready and was looking off to the side, but whatever. I was
still in shock over the whole thing.

I thanked Heath again. He asked how long I was gonna be in town. I told
him I’d be seeing him the next two days in L.A. and then flying back to
New York City. We then shook hands, and I ran back out to left field to
continue snagging.

The fan who’d lent me his phone was still there:

His name is Ismael. He has season tickets. He knows people. Incredible.

I snagged four more balls in left field during the next half-hour. The
first was a deep drive by Matt Holliday that Ubaldo Jimenez caught near
the warning track and tossed to me. The second was a home run to
left-center that got snared by the netting that separates the stands
from the Padres’ bullpen. The third (which I later gave away) came via
the glove trick, and the fourth was thrown by Scott Podsednik.

I headed over to right field when a bunch of lefties started taking
cuts, and I snagged my ninth ball of the day behind the foul pole. One
of the batters hooked a deep line drive that landed in a totally empty
section, so I had all the time in the world to walk over and pick up
the ball. (I love the Padres for being in last place. I wish every team
could be in last place.)

I didn’t snag anything else during BP. I had to wait until closer to
game time to reach double digits. Two pairs of Rockies started playing
catch along the left field foul line, and I got Clint Barmes to throw
me his ball when he finished. Simple. Easy. No competition once again.
I was in heaven.

I caught up briefly with Leigh and met another PETCO Park
regular/ballhawk named Rob (aka “juveasts”). We all chatted for a bit
until the Padres started throwing in right field. I ran out there and
ended up getting Nick Hundley to toss me my 11th ball of the day just
after the national anthem.

My actual/assigned seat was behind the Padres’ dugout, so I stayed
there for the whole game and waited for a chance to snag a third-out
ball. I was still banged up from Anaheim, and the blisters on the
bottom of my right toes were now on fire. Jake Peavy was on the hill. I
knew it was going to be a good game, and although this might come as a
surprise to many people reading this, I actually wanted to sit in one
spot and watch it. Peavy, meanwhile, kept making things difficult for
me by ending each inning with a strikeout. I was behind the outfield
end of the dugout, hoping that first baseman Adrian Gonzalez would end
up with the inning-ending balls, but catcher Josh Bard kept getting
them and tossing them to little kids behind the home-plate end of the
dugout. Thus, the only ball I snagged for the first eight innings was
made of nerf and thrown by the mascot:

Peavy ended up fanning 13 batters in eight innings and handing a 1-0
lead to Trevor Hoffman. What did Hoffman do? He gave up a run…which
was a shame…but it gave me an extra chance to snag a ball. I knew
there’d be a bottom of the ninth…which meant there’d be another
third-out ball tossed into the crowd after the top of the ninth
(instead of an on-field celebration), and wouldn’t you know
it…Tulowitzki ended up grounding out to third baseman Kevin
Kouzmanoff to end the frame. Gonzalez took the throw at first. All the
kids were waiting behind the home-plate end of the dugout. I had no
competition at the outfield end. Gonzalez jogged in and tossed me the
ball.

But wait, it wasn’t THE ball. It was too scuffed to be THE ball, and I
realized he must’ve switched balls. You know how the first baseman
always catches a ball on his way into the dugout after each inning?
That’s the infield warm-up ball. Gonzalez, for whatever reason (maybe
he’s a baseball collector too?), had tossed me that one and kept the
gamer for himself. Here’s the ball he tossed to me:

The Padres ended up scoring in the bottom of the ninth on three
singles. Game over. Thank God. I needed to rest. I’d be running into
Dodger Stadium less than 24 hours later…

No Comments

dude thats absolutely insane that heath called you on that guys phone…he is by far the coolest guy in baseball (sorry pat neshek) and its incredible to see how nice he is especially since i know some players would easily try to avoid “giving” you balls to add to your collection…but then again if he hooks you up with one per game thats really cool and i think even very generous of him…and then the hat and the photos are so chill…i mean a know a few baseball players, guys i have connections to (josh fogg, sean gallagher, brian roberts) but nothing compared to that. actually i havent even personally met gallagher yet but hes a patient of my uncle who is an optomitrist in florida where he lives so when oakland comes in next year and hes gonna be good…at least i have a connection so hopefully i can get him to sign if hes gonna be tough

anyway im so exstatic for you that youre having an insane trip…and insane is an understatement…and im looking foward to the upcoming posts

THAT IS SO COOL!!! I love my Padres even though we aren’t the best. Thanks for the “last place team” quote. Keep up the great blogging, and I hope you get a chance to rest….
Kaybee (kaybee.mlblogs.com)

Wow, that’s completely insane! Heath Bell is the Saul Rivera of the Padres, although Saul has never called me on a cellphone.

Well, I finally reached double digits (12) for the first time ever, and guess who threw me number 10. I’m really glad it worked out that way. It’s way cooler though how special ball #400 turned out to be for you. What are the odds Heath would do that right after #399?

12 balls is pretty amazing for me considering my old all-time high was nine. It would be unfair not to mention that five people were in the right field bleachers and three people were in the Red Porch. Plus, I had fun with all the Nationals September call-ups who didn’t recognize me. Most Nationals pitchers won’t throw me any balls anymore.

Cool entry, Zack. Do you think if I drop your name to Heath when I’m at the Padres game on Tuesday night he’ll hook ME up?
Double digits in 3 games is incredible! I can’t wait to hear about how your two days at Dodger Stadium turned out. Thanks again for inspiring me in my new hobby… and I’ve got my buddy reading your book now so you may have another new fan!
~Matt

I jealous about Heath Bell. The closest I have ever been to talking to a pro is when Mike Nickeas (minor league catcher) asked me “sup” at spring training this year.
Did you add the Swinging Friar to the list of players you have gotten baseballs from?
-Ellie

You should have checked out the screen on Ismael’s cell and memorized Heath’s number. That might have been a little stalkerish though, not that calling a buddy in the stands and asking him to hand you the phone wasn’t a little stalkerish in and of itself.

Great read, but I’m a little skeptical about the inclusion of the Nerf ball as mentioned earlier.

Zack, Nice job on the west coast, I am going to this saturdays mets game, there will most likely be no BP and the game will probably get canceled due to the tropical storm. The saturday game will most likely be part of a double header on sunday The makeup game from sat should be the first game. My question for you Zack, Do you think there will be BP on sunday for a double header?

Another fun game at PETCO huh? You always do so good when you come to the West Coast. Maybe you should move. Isn’t NYC old yet? So much to do. So much bad Padre baseball with small crowds. Ha ha. As you know I only got two. “Throw ups” from Livan Hernandez and Ubaldo Jimenez. I like “throw ups” better than “toss ups”. That’s just me. 90 balls for the year. Just a few games left to top the 101 from last year. You’re totally right about the Rockies gear. I should really invest in some other team’s gear. The NL West at least. In your pic with Heath Bell you can see my favorite vendor Jose sitting down. I sat in the seat right behind him the whole game. He’s the one who hooks up the free food that the people get with their seats in front of him. Heath Bell didn’t call you on his phone. He used Luigi’s (another PETCO regular) phone to call Ismael’s phone. PETCO teamwork at it’s best. That’s cool that Heath has his number inside the hat. It’s sad that he’s our 8th inning set up guy and he’s second on the team with 6 wins. Uggh. Well, once again, it was very cool seeing you. Another double digit snagging day and I was there. I got to see number 400 too. It’s so cool to be a witness to Zack history. Ha ha. Looking forward to the Dodger Stadium entries.

EVERYONE-
I just got back from Shea Stadium…so I’m now three games behind again. I’m planning to keep cranking out one blog entry per day, so keep checking back, and hopefully I’ll catch up soon. I’m about to add the cap and ball to my web site. I would’ve done it earlier, but I ran out of time and had to leave for Shea. I’ll answer comments later…

The last two nights at Turner Field have been brutal in my quest for a Nationals commemorative. Thursday, I snagged two from the Nats, both training. I can live with that, but I literally saw a ton of commemoratives on the field and the close calls in the stands. The strange part is that about 30 minutes after the stadium opened, this guy in left stumbled on THREE easter eggs, ALL commemorative.
Friday, I bought a cheap Nationals cap, but it didn’t pay off. I stood along the line, but every player ignored me. Snagged one along the line, but it was a training, so I gave it to a kid in hopes the Nats players would still give me a shot at another.
Good news is I now have a 5 game streak of 2 or more balls. I really need to come up with a cup or glove trick in the offseason, since I mainly go for BP home runs nowadays. Anyone have an instruction sheet?

lsthrasher04
I got 2 nationals commemoratives from the phillies last night.
So don’t give up hope if you cant get one from the nats cause when i was looking through the balls in the phillies bucket at their dugout, about 90% were nats commemoratives. And the other 10% were shea commemoratives lol

Zack,
Where would you suggest standing to catch a ball during batting practice at a Padres game. I believe you favored left filed. We’re going to San Diego in June and we kinda got hooked on getting a ball from every stadium we visit. Our record on snagging balls is so so, yours is amazing and very impressive. Thank you..

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